Packing Things Away
by Mona001
Summary: Tumblr Prompt: I got a prompt if you are interested! I love the idea of Emma taking Hook along to pack up her place in New York while Henry is with Regina because Emma thinks it would be good to be away from Regina for a few days. Emma and Hook exploring their new relationship on the trip. If you want to write it, it would really make me happy. Thanks!... An oldie but a goodie!


"Careful with the glass though," Emma warned as she watched Killian's attempt to paper wrap the dishes from the kitchen cabinets. "How are you even doing that with only one hand anyway?"

Killian lifted his fake hand that was in place of the usual hook.

"It's a little bit easier with this," he said with a shrug. And with a wide grin he continued the task of wrapping dishes for the trip back to Storybrooke.

"Thanks," Emma told him softly, going back to her own job of clearing out the refrigerator.

It hadn't been that long since she had been here. Back home in New York City. But now it was packing day. This life was over. And she had this promising future back where she knew was really home: Storybrooke.

She would only be taking the essentials back with her. The personal items that she could not part with. Everything else would be sold off and in the care of, thankfully, her trusted building manager.

"No problem at all, love." Killian cleared his throat rather noisily. "Emma?"

She turned back to see that he was once again staring at her.

"Yeah?"

"How are you doing?" His hand waved in her direction. "With everything?"

Emma's brows raised. "You mean with Regina?"

Killian gave her a knowing shrug.

Regina, although she didn't rush to attempt to snatch her heart out to crush it (even if that was impossible), was still physically reeling from the discovery of Emma's part in ruining her life. Emma just needed some space between her and the other woman. Even though the trip back to New York was only a few hours, she had planned on taking a few days to settle all of her business before going back.

Henry had decided to stay with Regina. A good idea, Emma thought. He would be a steady fixture in her life. One that Regina would not only appreciate but one that she needed.

But Killian had decided to make the trip with her, she thought with a smile. It would be a whole different from their last time in the city. Completely different.

The last time they were together here he had been a stranger to her. And when he wasn't a stranger there had been a cloud of disaster looming over their heads. But this time? This time they were here under the haze of a budding new romance. When she had stopped to think about it, she did so with quick bright smiles of wonderment. When he looked at her, she saw something familiar yet different. Emma realized it had been she who had denied those looks of something meaningful since Neverland. But there was no need for that this time, because she realized how much she enjoyed the feelings behind those looks.

Emma sighed, pulling out the wilted vegetables from the crisper. "Honestly, I'm just glad I got to get away for a few days."

"Well there is that."

Emma turned back to look at him.

"And I'm glad I'm getting those days with you," she told him honestly. "Without the constant need to look over my shoulder for the next crisis."

"And then there's that as well," he murmured, his gaze conveying so much.

Emma rolled her eyes in a playful way. "Let's get finished with the kitchen, alright? We still have to clear out the living room and the bedroom."

"Aye," Killian agreed, his hands moving quickly to wrap another glass dish in the newspaper.

Emma noticed the sudden glint in his eyes, but chose to dismiss it. With a quick bite of her lip, she returned to her own task at hand.

.

Emma placed the half-empty cartons of lo mein and fried rice on top of the already covered cocktail table. She turned back to look at Killian, who was already stretched out on their makeshift bed. He had an arm under his head, propping himself up a bit, and a raised knee. He was lying comfortably atop the pallet made of two thick blankets and fluffy pillows laid out in the middle of the living room floor.

He did seem rather comfortable, she surmised. An ease fell upon them in this setting that she wasn't sure they would have so soon. It had been a few days since their return from the past. That meant a few days since they started working on this new avenue of their relationship.

Emma glanced out of the window, checking out the terrific view of the skyline.

"New York is a beautiful city." She turned to make out his expression.

From his angle, he wouldn't have been able to view anything but the darkening sky.

With a slight shrug of indifference, he answered, "This city is so busy with the bustle of structures and even more structures that it is difficult to even have the opportunity to appreciate its natural state. The stars, for example. There is no way to see the majesty afforded this land because of all the manmade lights shining atop it." He looked back at her. "In Storybrooke there is at least that."

Emma smirked. "I didn't think that you'd care too much for it." She moved slowly back to their shared bed. With a plop, she took her seat next to him, sitting crossed-leg.

Killian looked up at her from where he still laid, unmoving except his eyes, which roamed her face.

"But I would have followed you here without a moment of doubt," he assured her solemnly.

Emma wrinkled her nose, cocking her head to the side. "You kinda did."

And with that he grinned. "I meant forever."

The look in his eyes, and the butterflies in her stomach, convinced her that his words were true.

"If you would have needed to come back here then it would have been a sacrifice I would have willingly made."

"You sweet talker you," Emma said softly. She leaned over his body, her lips searching for his. It was a soft kiss. A press of lips against lips that sent little sparks of electricity coursing through her body.

Killian's fingers slipped over her cheek as she pulled away.

"I mean it, Emma."

And she nodded. "I know."

She had not been nervous before that moment. Sitting back, just watching the calmness in his eyes, her thoughts went to the significance of this night.

She felt a bit silly. This was not the first time she had been alone with him. This was not the first time they had went away on some trip together. A lot of their time together had been spent outside the comforts of home, some journey. But this was different. This was them, away together alone. This was them alone in the city and with a new budding relationship. So nervousness was a little bit okay, right?

Killian was so relaxed. He had been that way the entire trip, but she wondered what he was thinking right at that moment. Because it was bedtime. And even with their relationship progressing over just the past few days, she didn't know what she expected from the night. She definitely didn't know what he was expecting. But she was open to anything.

"It's been a long day," Emma said with a sigh.

"Filled with a lot of work," Killian added. He scooted over a bit. "Why don't you lie down? All the hard work has been taken care of. Get some rest before it starts all over in the morning."

Smile tugging on her lips, Emma pulled back the cover

"Are you tired?" she asked.

"No." With Emma laying there beside him, Killian's arm fell across her waist, pulling her closer. "I've just been looking forward to this moment right here." And a quick simple peck graced her cheek. "Oi."

He was smiling as he pulled back, and so was she. "What?"

"You've gone a bit red, love," he told her, his fingers ghosting over her cheek. "What is it?"

It was the touch of his skin to hers. It was the amount of heat being created between their bodies while being wrapped in the blanket. It was the heady thoughts once again invading her mind of how much this man was beginning to mean to her.

Emma shrugged. "Don't know." She turned from her side to lay flat on her back. It was her turn to look up at him. To gaze up into his face and be mesmerized by everything she found there.

Emma smiled. "I'm not sleepy."

Killian returned her smile with ease. "Neither am I."

With only a slight pause, just a second to think about what she was doing, Emma lifted her lips up in search of his. Another chaste kiss. Only it turned into something else, as Killian's mouth slid over hers. It became a slow and in-depth discovery between two people who knew the other one so well in some aspects, but completely curious in other ways.

When his lips slid from hers to move across her cheek, Emma smiled to herself.

"This is going to be a good night."

1:00 a.m.

"I'm worried," Emma admitted.

"About?" Killian's fingers threaded through her hair. It was all at his availability with her lying atop him. She was still dressed fully in pajama shorts and top, but it felt as if there were absolutely no barriers between them. Such a heady feeling…

"About what's to come when we're back home."

His arm held her steady above him while his hand roamed from her hair to her face to her neck.

"Regina will come to terms with what has happened," he murmured. "You cannot live in fear of her issues and what effect that will have on you."

A frown creased Emma's brow. "Do you know Regina?"

"Aye," he answered firmly. "And I know you even better. I know that even if you have your doubts, you are still holding out hope for her to not regress into the evil queen that she was."

"Hoping isn't a guarantee," Emma whispered.

"But it's nice to have to hold on to," he countered softly.

She watched his eyes for a moment. And she appreciated his optimism so much.

"You're just what I needed." Emma laid her arms flat on his chest, followed by her head. She was beyond comfortable. "I'm happy you're here, Killian."

.

3:00 a.m.

"Liam was… a natural leader."

Emma disentangled herself from his side to look up at him.

"Where I was the more cautious of the two, he was more self-aware and satisfied by his own mind and decision-making skills. Which he had an abundance of."

"Just not always?" Emma asked, looking up at him.

His mouth turned grim. "Not always."

Emma let her hand travel down the length of his side, letting her silence speak volumes for herself.

"I was wary that day," Killian continued, his gaze falling to a point at her shoulder. "Pan, for all his flare, seemed knowledgeable of the island. Liam wholeheartedly believed in our king, never giving Pan's warning any heed. He would not doubt for a second that our mission was not to destroy a whole people. There was nothing I could do to get him to even take a moment to perhaps think things out."

He had gone back to that place, Emma could see. He wasn't looking in her eyes, but she saw the faraway gaze, the disconnection to the present.

"It wasn't until it was too late that Liam wanted to confront our king for his wrongdoings. We could no longer save him."

Emma wrapped her arm around his back, hugging herself all the closer to him.

"He was all that you had then," she murmured, understanding. "The one person who you could share your burdens with so that it wasn't always just up to you. I'm sorry you lost him, Killian."

He buried his face in the crook of her neck. She could feel the press of his lips against her skin.

"Aye, that he was," he muttered thickly. "It was that way for a long time." He pulled back and finally met her eyes.

Killian didn't have to say the words. She could feel the sentiment in their embrace and his face. And she felt the same way.

Until you.

.

4:30 a.m.

"This one?"

"Consequences with a battle with some nasty mermaids."

"What about this one?"

"Again, during my time in Neverland. The Lost Ones and I were not always so even-keeled. But I more than not came out on top."

The blanket had been pulled back as the exploration of bodies ensued. New eyes gave new perspectives of those things they were used to seeing.

"What about you, love?" Killian asked, lifting the hem of her shirt a mere few inches. "I think this spot right here has been my favorite discovery.

Emma smiled at the feel of his lips to her stomach.

"That's not a scar," she told him. "It's a birthmark."

"You were marked at birth so that one day I may find…"

Emma felt the instinctive eye roll come as she smiled. The feel of skin to skin felt great. But she couldn't help but think that he could be a bit much at times.

Then again, she thought as her fingers gripped fistfuls of his hair, she could handle that.

.

6:00 a.m.

"Are you sleepy, love?"

Emma smiled up at him. "Yes. But I'm having so much fun."

Killian leaned down to drop a kiss on her lips. "Aye."

Exploration of bodies with eyes and fingers eventually turned into exploration of bodies with open mouths and lingering gripping hands.

Killian hovered over Emma, attempting to not put too much of his weight on her. The weight felt so good to her though. This was a tremendous way to spend their first night together in New York.

"Sleep can wait."

"But… there is still much to do today. You should rest."

Emma's fingers caressed the soft dark hair that matted his chest, loving the contrast between that and his beard, which was rough and scruffy.

She didn't know when she would ever get enough of him. She didn't know if she could ever get enough of him. And yet she knew she had only begun to scratch the surface. There was so much more to learn about the man who was always willing to put her first.

"This is amazing, Killian," she whispered. "I'm not ready for this to end."

Killian leaned his head back. "Emma, love, this is only the beginning."

.

11:00 a.m.

She liked that he was possessive even in his sleep, Emma noted to herself when she awoke to find his arms wrapped around her waist.

She knew it was late. She knew that they had eventually got about four or so hours of sleep. The day was slipping away from them already. But, it was their day. It didn't have to be about anyone or anything else.

He began to stir from behind her, his body sliding up against hers.

"Morning."

"Good morning, love. Did you sleep well?"

"Yes. How about you? Are you feeling well-rested?" Emma bit her lip as she turned in his arms to face him.

He had the biggest smile on his face, his eyes still looking a bit blurry from sleep. His hair was a tousled mess, exactly how she would have imagined it looking in the morning.

"Well-rested, yes. I told you the sleep would do us both a wealth of good." Killian pulled her even closer.

Emma rested her hand against his hair-roughened cheek. "A few hours of sleep is not the only reason for my chipper mood this morning."

The smile turned into a wolfish grin. "Aye?"

She rolled her eyes, tracking his thoughts with her own.

"It was everything, Killian. Everything that I've gotten to experience with you these past few days since the mess-up with Regina. Since the beginning you were always there. You coming here to New York was something I didn't even know I needed until last night." Her hand slid over to his arm. "I know I've said it a lot, but thank you."

Killian's mouth came to press against hers once again. It was a kiss that lingered for a moment. Heat and passion rising between the two.

"Emma, don't thank me again," he murmured close to her lips. "Just enjoy this all for what it is."

Emma smiled. "Ok, I don't want to leave this moment for a very long time." She kissed him again, happier than ever in this moment he was giving her.


End file.
